Tarnished Charm
by EruptIntoColourfulFlames
Summary: She thought her charm as a Veela was everything, but beauty is worthless without a pleasant nature.


Araceli sat alone in the Great Hall, picking at her food. She was an incredibly picky eater and very conscious of her weight, so consequently never ate a full meal. Instead, she preferred to watch all the students walk by, so she could poke fun at them and turn on her Veela charm whenever an unsuspecting male wandered past.

The girl was half-Veela, with long shimmering blonde hair and large blue eyes, and usually used this to her advantage. She was an unpleasant student who was unpopular with all of the girls in her year. Sometimes she hung around the boys in the older years but generally once the girls arrived, she would be pushed out the group. The boys in her own year were wise to her tricks; even Draco Malfoy and his gang appeared indifferent towards her.

A Fifth Year couple were walking hand in hand between the tables. They gave each other soppy glances, stopping to kiss quickly when they thought no-one was watching. Araceli smiled blandly to herself, focussing hard in her head. To turn on the charm, one had to concentrate extremely hard on becoming as alluring as possible. The magic worked best when the boys were not expecting it.

As soon as the boy, whom she didn't recognise, walked past the table with a girl in her year named Jenny Quinn from Hufflepuff, Araceli began batting her eyelashes at him innocently. For extra effect, she pouted slightly and twirled her hair with her long, slender finger. At once, the boy stopped still, gawping slightly. Jenny tugged on his arm slightly, not even looking over at Araceli. When the boy continued to stare, completely transfixed, his girlfriend grew more impatient.

"Tom, come on, what's up?" Jenny said irritably. She glanced at Araceli, then must have realised what she up to, for a look of hatred crossed her face.

"She's using her Veela charm again, just ignore her." Tom slid onto the bench, letting go of Jenny's hand in an attempt to get closer to the girl radiating beauty and confidence. "_Tom._" Once it became clear that Tom was completely spellbound, she threw her hands up in defeat.

"I'll catch you later, when your brain's finally returned." And with that, she turned on her heel and went to join a group of Hufflepuffs cheerfully discussing Quidditch. The second the girl had disappeared, Araceli dropped the charm and fixed him with an unpleasant glare.

"Wait, wha- Why am I sat here?" Tom said to himself, apparently in a daze. Barely looking at Araceli, he got up and wandered off blindly. The Veela watched him sit next to his girlfriend, only for her to treat him coldly. Araceli smiled. She loved watching couples fight because of her powers.

Parvarti and Padma Patil were walking arm in arm now, and Araceli glared at them both. The twins returned the scowl.

"I would say 'You have the brains, I have the beauty' but it appears you don't even have that, judging by your inability to speak coherently," Araceli commented smoothly when Parvarti got her words mixed up at the sight of Harry, who was sat with Hermione and Ron as usual. Parvarti ignored her, stalking off with her twin as if nothing happened. She narrowed her eyes at the girls.

No-one particularly interesting walked by for a good few minutes, only First Years that barely mattered. She gave them disdainful looks, waiting for her next victim. Aha. The school pranksters, Fred and George Weasley, accompanied by Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, had just entered. Abandoning her plate for someone else to clean up, she got up gracefully, yanking her skirt up, and strode confidently towards them. At the sight of her, Angelina and Alicia fell silent, and the twins glanced at her suspiciously. Her charm had never quite worked on them; it was as if they were too smart for that. Araceli hated the boys who weren't dazzled by her – Harry Potter was another example.

"Hey boys," Araceli greeted flirtatiously, giggling softly. They stared at her.

"Hi," George said shortly. Without waiting for a reply, they moved past her and resumed their conversation. She flushed at the rejection, and the two girls laughed.

"You think you're It, don't you Dorsett?" Alicia said scathingly. "Well you aren't. You have to use your stupid Veela powers for any boy to notice you and every single girl in the school hates you. Nice one."

"You'll meet your match one day, Dorsett," Angelina warned, flicking her braid behind her.

"Jealousy's a bitch, girls," Araceli said serenely.

"So are you, what's your point?" Angelina shot back aggressively, barging into her hard as they too walked off. Araceli could feel the anger bubble up inside her. She would plot her revenge in Herbology.

~~~(O.O)~~~

On the Slytherin table, she sat alone. Draco Malfoy was sat a few seats away, but he ignored her, even when she persistently stared at him. One person was noticing.

"Back off, you bitch!" Pansy Parkinson hissed at her. "Stop making eyes at every boy you see just because you're a bloody Veela!"

"Honey, even at my worst I'm still prettier than your best," Araceli said bitchily, sneering at her.

Pansy snorted, turning her back on her. "I hope someone curses that girl one day," she said to the group, and Draco and a few of his friends turned to look at her for a second.

"Good evening, everyone," Dumbledore said in a booming voice, and everyone fell silent. "Firstly, before our feast, I would like to introduce to everybody some very important guests. Hogwarts has been chosen to host a very special event, the Triwizard Tournament. It links together three schools, including ours, in an exciting competition. One Champion will be selected from each school and they will compete to win the Triwizard Cup!"

There was excited muttering echoing round the hall. Araceli rolled her eyes and yawned, examining her perfectly manicured nails.

"Keep rolling your eyes bitch, you might find a brain back there," Pansy said loudly, and the group of Slytherin's laughed. Araceli sneered again; this was her natural response.

"Without further ado, let me welcome the young ladies at the Beauxbatons Academy!" Dumbledore said, and it alerted everyone's attention immediately. Students were craning their necks towards the main doors, so Araceli, with a sigh, swivelled around to watch too. Secretly, she wanted to see the girls too, to see if they were more beautiful than her.

The doors were flung open and about 20 girls marched in, standing tall and gracefully. Araceli's heart sank; every single one of the girls was absolutely stunning. Furthermore, she could not detect Veela's charm in any of them. Her face burned with rage and jealousy as she watched them glide elegantly to the front with dazzling smiles. After their performance, the girls took seats at the Ravenclaw table; the boys looked delighted to be sat next to them. The girls were watching them warily as they were judging on character as opposed to looks.

Pansy watched Araceli with an amused look. "Met your match now, eh? No-ones interested in you, no matter how hard you try that charm!"

Sure enough, when Araceli tried her hardest, there was not one single glance in her direction, even when she began edging up to the Seventh Years next to her. Behind, Pansy was cackling. Araceli turned to snap at her – and caught Angelina Johnson's eye instead. She smirked.

"Guess you've finally got competition, love." She jerked her head towards the most beautiful of the girls. Every boy within a metre of her was staring in awe.

In anger, Araceli rose up, towards the Ravenclaw table. A few people were watching with mild interest, as she stopped in front of the girl. She was very beautiful, with long silver hair and perfect facial features. Araceli stared at her viciously until she noticed, then turned on her charm to its fullest extent. She smirked.

The girl's power shocked her, so much that she was forced to give up her own ability. She was the most alluring Veela Araceli had ever met, never had she felt a power this strong before. With a sweet smile, the girl turned away, and Araceli snarled in rage. There was nothing remotely attractive about her now. As she spun round, the Half-Veela realised she had truly met her match, and there was nothing she could do about it.


End file.
